Observations:- Quite the price point- Looks they are each numbered with a limited edition tag? - No down fill numbers- Lighter than I expected- Made in China despite the "Ventura, CA" tag (no surprise here)- One color choice

I read this on Patagonia's care instructions link for the encapsil parka:

"We use a more effective and environmentally sound way to clean Encapsil down: The NexWash™ liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) process that cleans gently and thoroughly without soaps or detergents, removing oils and bacteria without the need for heat or long, energy-intensive dryer cycles...."

Do any other companies like WM, FF, etc... use cleaning technologies (like the liquid CO2 above, or other) that are vastly different from what normal people have available at the laundry mat for cleaning down?

Any insights or is Patagonia way ahead of the curve on down maintenance too?

Well the Patagonia Japan allotment has already sold out and I bet there will be several hundred of these seen in/around Everest base camp in the coming months.

I've seen old Golite daypacks sell on auction for more than $1000 I assume to collectors, so I don't see why folks are ragging on about the price, especially since it comes with what essentially a free lifetime service warranty over and above Patagonia's already excellent satisfaction guaranteed policy.

Being a limited 1000 piece production run, an individually numbered jacket will certainly lend itself to collector popularity. In a few years, I bet we will see posts here speculating which numbers are "best" and thus worth more due to micro details in production or what famous personality wore it. As with the Google IPO, I will wager $700 is the lowest price we will ever see for this jacket.

That said, Patagonia has already indicated they plan on pushing Encapsil into the rest of the down product line so cheaper jackets are a certainty. I hope so, since this jacket is actually too warm for the typical winter conditions I expect/want to hike in.

Actually, I hope they start making sleeping bags with this stuff too. The only question is if more reasonably priced Encapsil products will also offer free cleaning services or will they turn that into the profit center, like blades for your razor or ink for your printer.

In the overall scheme of things, it's actually a good deal. Whomever buys it will essentially get "free" use for as long they own it since Patagonia is essentially promising to keep it "like new" and chances are good that a limited edition that it will almost certainly hold its price in a collectors market.

I think the only value risk is if Nisley comes back with a test declaring Encapsil down to be less than claimed that goes viral on the web. Worst case then is you have a "normal" 800FP down jacket made to exacting standards with free lifetime laundry and repair services.

I tried one of these on in the store today, and was super impressed. One of the nicest garments that I've seen--design, fit and finish are pretty much perfect. The baffles are fluffy and dense throughout the jacket, which makes it feel like wearing a warm sleeping bag. I don't have $700 to spend, but this jacket is good enough to make me wish I did. If you're a frequent winter climber/adventurer and planned on having this as your cold weather parka for the indefinite future, I could see justifying it. Personally, I hate washing/drying down gear. Its expensive, a pain in the ass, and easy enough to do it wrong. I'd love to have a lifetime cleaning service that came with my down gear.

I was surprised and disappointed to see they used a one way zip. I'm sure they'll get a lot of flack for this as its pretty much expected in a belay parka. My hope is that they correct this and come out with a cheaper non-limited edition next year. Supposedly patagonia is developing a 1200 fill power with the same tech. Hmmm...

Eric, I know this garment is the perfect sounding board for your anti-elitist elitism, but give it a rest. You've made your point.

Hi stephen, the patagonia is a lot loftier & a lot denser than the mojave. It feels like they packed a 30 degree sleeping bag into a a perfectly fitting upper body peice. The cut/design/finish are in a different league.

It's simply nothing that I would consider buying.Maybe as the future unfolds, and prices come down to normal levels, I might consider it.I've lived all my outdoor life with regular down, and it has worked out just fine.

I think a Ferrari is cool too, but I'm not going to ever buy one.

Eventually, after the hype is gone, they are going to realize that they will have to sell these things for prices people can afford. I might consider one at that time.